Acupuncture in the Treatment of a Series of Patients with Chronic Pain Associated with Hip Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective Hip osteoarthritis (HO) causes pain and deranges functioning. Surgical treatment is the preferred approach in severe cases, but clinical comorbidities, age and the long waiting list may compromise quality of life. This study aimed to describe the results of acupuncture for the control pain and improvement of functioning in subjects with HO.

Method Twelve severe HO patients were treated with ten weekly sessions of a standardized acupuncture point protocol. Pain intensity was assessed with the Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) and quality of life with WOMAC Index.

Results Pain intensity (VAS) reduced from 75.8 ± 18.8 mm to 20.0 ± 22.6 mm after 10 acupuncture sessions and 48.3 ± 26.6mm in the follow-up (ANOVA F = 7.99; p < 0.001). WOMAC Index values reduced from 74.7 ± 12.7 to 45.7 ± 22.1 and 54.6 ± 22.9 at the same timepoints.

Conclusion Acupuncture is an effective conservative rehabilitation strategy to reduce pain and improve quality of life in subjects with severe HO.

Keywords

osteoarthritis - hip - acupuncture - pain - quality of life

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